Panic Zone Conqueror

"Ladies and gentlemen! Here he is for the final round! Gabe Garfield will be facing his greatest fear!"  

The words roared over the crowd like it was the first lap of the Indy 500. Gabe couldn't move. He couldn't even breathe. How did I end up here?, he thought to himself. Of all the people on earth, how did HE get talked into this? The two-story digital countdown started. 10-9. Am I really going through with this? 8-7. I can still back out. 6-5. Just walk away. I have nothing to prove. 4-3. Go Gabe! Leave! 2-1. Shit. 

Eight hours earlier, Gabe Garfield was walking into work on another monotonous Tuesday. Boring and predictable was exactly how he liked to be. He parked in the same spot, walked the same pace, climbed the same steps to his office, and poured the same cup of coffee with two creams. After sitting down at his 6x8 cubicle, he noticed his voicemail light flickering in regular intervals. He picked up the phone and punched in his password.  

“Gabe, it’s Charlie. Call me asap! My producers need a last-minute contestant. I need you!”  

Gabe hung up and sighed. His friend, Charlie, was recently able to get his foot in the Hollywood door as an assistant casting director for a brand-new stunt game show, called Panic Zone Conqueror. Gabe knew that they must have had a cancellation or something and Charlie just wanted to be the guy to save the day with a replacement to look impressive. No way, Gabe thought to himself, and started into his usual morning reports. 

Not two minutes later, his phone rang, and Gabe correctly guessed who it was. “Hello, Charlie,” Gabe said as he picked up the phone. “And no thank you. Count me out.” 

“Oh, come on, Gabe. This is a once in a lifetime chance for you.” 

“So was the rental property you begged me to invest in. How’s that going for us?”  

“Not fair. You know that wasn’t my fault. Anyway, this is different. All you have to do is face your fear and collect a crap-ton of money!” 

“If it’s so easy, then why do you desperately need me to do it? Don’t you have a contestant ready to go? Plus, how do they know what my fears are? Surely, they have to know ahead of time, so they know what stunts to do.” 

“Our contestant was in an accident, so he can’t be involved. We’re already set up for the stunt. We’re in a tight filming window and it’s gotta be today.” 

“Wait, today? Charlie, I’m at work. I can’t just leave here and go shoot a tv show.” 

“Just take a half day and come to the address I’m about to text you.” 

“No way. What’s the stunt anyway?” 

“Well, his was a fear of falling and I know that’s yours too! It’s perfect!” 

“Nope! No way! No chance! Not happening today or any other day. You know why I have a fear of falling. You were there when my brother fell.” 

“Yes, I know Gabe. It was horrible. But it was 16 years ago. You never got counseling or therapy of any kind. You need to face your demons and I need a contestant. Just come here and take a look. If you decide not to do it, then you can back out whenever. You’d be doing me a HUGE favor! Plus, you have a chance to win $50,000.” 

“$50,000?” 

“Yes, Gabe. I’ve told you about the big prizes.” 

“I know, but when you say it out loud, it’s a lot of money. But, still the answer is no.” 

“Gabe, I need you. I’m asking you, as a friend, to do me this favor. Please.” 

Gabe let out a long defeated sigh. One of his biggest weeknesses was his loyalty to his friends. “Fine. text me the address. I’ll leave now.”  

“That’s the old Gabe! Thanks buddy, I owe you one. Well, unless you win the money. Then you owe me one.” 

What the hell have I just done? 

Gabe couldn’t help but think about his brother, Gilbert, during the entire drive to the filming location. It was a short 16 years ago their family was vacationing along with Charlie’s family in Tennessee. They rented an eight-room cabin in Gatlinburg, overlooking a voluminous crystal lake. It was just before dinner and the boys were all roughhousing on the upper deck of the cabin. Things got a little too rough and Gilbert crashed through the wooden rail and fell a story down to the ground. He broke two vertebrae, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Gabe never forgave himself and committed himself to playing it safe from then on. Now he just lives a humdrum life, hoping never to hurt anyone again.  

Gabe couldn’t help but think about the $50,000. He knew he could get a much better automated wheelchair for Charlie, that is not covered by insurance. Maybe this was his chance to make amends with himself as well. 

He arrived at the address of the filming location and found a parking spot. Apparently, this was being filmed outside because there seemed to be a crowd of people standing around the street corner. He spotted a familiar face. 

“Gabe! Over here!” 

Gabe wandered over to Charlie, who grabbed him by the arm and led him to a group of people huddled around a camera. “Phil! Here’s your contestant!” The man popped straight up and marched directly to Gabe. “Gabe, this is Phil, our director. Phil, meet Gabe, the man who’s gonna save the day.” 

Phil looked Gabe up and down to consider him. “Gabe, do you know much about Panic Zone Conqueror? 

“A little I guess. Don’t I just face my fear and win money?” 

“Pretty much. Good enough for me. I do have to ask, for ethical reasons, what is your greatest fear?” 

Gabe thought of Gilbert. “Falling.” 

“Perfect!” 

Charlie chimed in, “I told you he’d be perfect!” 

 “Well, he looks fit enough. Take him to the medical station to have him checked out to make sure he doesn’t keel over while we’re filming. Then take him to legal to sign all the waivers.” 

After a thorough examination from the on-set doctor, Gabe was whisked away to a media van to speak with one of the show’s lawyers inside. It was all a mad rush. His head was beginning to spin from all that was going on around him. The lawyer explained the rules, how to win money and how much, and handed Gabe a stack of documents to sign.  

Gabe had just dotted his last I and crossed his last T when a woman with smokey breath and yellow-stained fingers walked up to him and said in a raspy voice, “Time to get you into costume.” 

“Costume?” 

“Yes, honey, you didn’t think you were going to wear khakis and a golf shirt on tv did you?” 

“Uh, no?” 

She hurried Gabe into a trailer and handed him a package. Put this on quickly, then come back outside. We start filming in ten minutes. 

“Ten minutes?” 

“Yes! Ten minutes! Now hurry,” and she left him to it. 

Charlie was waiting for Gabe as he walked out of the trailer in a blue and black wrestling singlet.  

“Why am I wearing this?,” Gabe said with a confused and indignant look in his eye. 

“It’s the best outfit for athletic activity and balance. Come on, we begin rolling in two minutes.” 

“What do I have to do, anyway?” 

“You just have to complete a task that involves your greatest fear three different times. Each time is more difficult than the last. Good luck, buddy!” 

Gabe found himself in the middle of a circular stage with a crowd of 100 or so sitting in stands surrounding him, when blinding lights suddenly turned on and theme music began playing. He heard a voice over the loudspeaker. 

“YOU THINK YOU’RE IN CONTROL OF YOUR FEARS?...WELCOME TO PANIC ZONE CONQUEROR!” 

A man in skinny jeans and a tight, black tee shirt walked on stage next to Gabe. “Hello, everybody! Welcome to Panic Zone Conqueror! I’m your host, Zee Roberts, and today we have Gabe here with us. He’s going to try to conquer his greatest fear in a series of tests. Gabe, can you tell us, what is your greatest fear?”  

“Uh, falling, Zee.” 

“Then that is exactly what you are going to conquer today. Let’s get right to it. You are going to try to accomplish the same task three different times. Each time we will add a level of difficulty and danger to it.” 

“Danger?” 

“That’s right, Gabe! DANGER!” 

Just then Gabe was ushered to what looked like a giant bucket with a door on it. He stepped inside and the door closed behind him. 

“Ok, Gabe, up you go!” 

“Huh?” Just then, the bucket shot up like an elevator. Up, up, up. It seemed like it would never stop. When it finally did, Gabe took a look down. The host now looked like an ant. He instantly began shaking and sweating. A safety tech, stationed at the top, grabbed his arm and pulled him out onto a small platform. He could still hear Zee’s voice from below. 

“For your first task, you will be ten stories up, tethered to a safety cord and will have a net below you. You will have to walk the 100 foot plank in front of you to the platform on the other side. You will have two minutes to accomplish your goal to win $10,000.” 

Gabe looked out in front of him and there was a 1 ½ foot wide, metal plank leading 100 feet to the other side. The safety tech on the platform placed a harness on him and connected a safety cord clip to it. He looked down and saw a net had been placed below.  

10-9-8-7-6. Gabe could hear the crowd counting down with a giant digital board to the side. 5-4-3-2-1. “CONQUER!”  

Gabe panicked and didn’t move a muscle. Sweat was flooding his singlet. He could barely see in front of him, and the crowd noise was a blur. A voice next to him snapped him out of his trance. It was the safety tech. “Go, man!” 

Gabe swallowed hard and started to walk. He began to think of his brother and decided it was time to be brave, like Gilbert had been for the last 16 years. A wave of confidence washed over him. The next thing he knew, he was standing on the opposite flatform. Suddenly, his eyes and ears began to clear, and he could hear the roar of the crowd, cheering him on.  

“He did it! He’s on the other side! We’ll be right back after these messages to see if he can pass stage two.” 

There was a safety tech on this platform as well, who looked at Gabe. “You ok, man?” 

“Yeah, I think I’m good.” 

He could tell the commercial break was over when he heard Zee’s voice from down below, “Welcome back to Panic Zone Conqueror. Our contestant, Gabe, just completed stage-one of his tests and won $10,000. Gabe, are you ready for stage-two and a chance to make it $20,000?” 

“I’m ready Zee.” There was more confidence in his voice now.  

“For stage-two, you will walk right back across that plank. But this time you will only have the net. Please remove his harness.” 

“Wait, what?” 

The tech unclipped the cord and took the harness off Gabe.  

“Everybody, count down with me.” Gabe took another look down. It was the same view as before, but he felt naked without the harness. 

10-9-8-7-6 

Gabe started panicking again. 

5-4-3-2-1 “CONQUER!” 

He stayed put once again. This was going to be harder, but he knew there was still a net. However, a terrifying fall into the net was foremost in his mind. He took a deep breath in, then out, and off he went. He once again lost track of time and reality. He was in a daze, but thinking about helping his brother kept him going. He could hear counting in the background. It sounded like the crowd was counting down again. Was he running out of time? Then, the tech put his arm out to stop Gabe from walking off the back of the platform. The crowd stopped counting and started cheering. He made it. 

“INCREDIBLE! Gabe is up to $20,000! We’ll return after these messages to see if Gabe has what it takes to totally conquer his fear and win $50,000.” 

It was a commercial break again. Gabe was exhilarated. He felt like he could take on the world. The tech looked at Gabe. “You ready for this, man?” 

“Hell yeah! I’m ready for anything!”  

“Well, that’s a lot better than the original contestant.” 

“The one that was in the accident? What happened to him anyway?” 

“It was no accident. Before he was even able to get into costume, he was told what he would have to do for the third stage, took one look at the set, and had a heart attack. He was rushed to the hospital. No word on his condition.” 

“What? No one told me that! What do I have to do for the third stage?” 

He heard a booming voice below. “We’re back from break and it’s time for the third stage for $50,000. Our conqueror is going to have to walk the plank again with no safety harness and no net. Just him and 100 feet of plank. So, for the official announcement… 

"Ladies and gentlemen! Here he is for the final round! Gabe Garfield will be facing his greatest fear!"  

The words roared over the crowd like it was the first lap of the Indy 500. Gabe couldn't move. He couldn't even breathe. How did I end up here?, he thought to himself. Of all the people on earth, how did HE get talked into this? The two-story digital countdown started. 10-9. Am I really going through with this? 8-7. I can still back out. 6-5. Just walk away. I have nothing to prove. 4-3. Go Gabe! Leave! 2-1. Shit. 

Gabe started moving. Left foot in front of right. Right in front of left. He was shaking as he moved. The last two times, he started feeling comfortable a quarter of the way in. This time didn’t feel right at all. He started panicking. Halfway there. I can do this, he thought to himself. 

He was sweating uncontrollably now, mouth dry. He was almost three quarters of the way there. He was going to make it! The next thing he felt was the toe of his left shoe hit the heel of his right shoe. His knees buckled. He reached out his arms to grab the plank. Too late. He was too out of control and falling too fast. He slipped off the side of the plank and down he went.  

Memories of 16 years ago flashed in front of him. He saw himself tossing the football to Gilbert then tackling him.  

Out of the corner of his eye he thought he saw a giant inflatable air cushion deploy. 

He saw the railing crack and Gilbert fly straight through it. 

He heard the crowd scream. 

He saw Gilbert fall over the side. 

He saw the white marshmallow-like cushion. 

He saw Gilbert crumpled on the ground with his leg facing the wrong direction. 

He felt himself quickly hit a soft cloudlike pillow and slowly sink. 

Gabe opened his eyes and there was Zee Roberts standing over him, smiling. Next to him was Charlie and a camera operator. 

“You ok, Gabe?” 

Gabe wasn’t sure if he was dead. “What happened?” 

“I’ll tell you what happened,” Zee blurted. “You did it, Gabe! You conquered your greatest fear. You won!” 

The crowd burst into a cheer. 

“But I fell. I didn’t make it across.”  

“Just by taking your first step out onto the plank, you won, Gabe. You conquered your fear and that’s the name of the game. There was no first contestant that had a heart attack. It was all about you the whole time. In this first episode, we’re telling your story. We have a special guest to present you with your $50,000 check.” 

Gabe looked over his shoulder to see Gilbert in his wheelchair, holding a giant prop check, with a tear in his eye and a wide smile on his face. Zee handed him the microphone. 

“I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. Falling was never your biggest fear. Your biggest fear was walking with guilt. Well, it’s time, big brother. You’ve faced your fear. Time to leave the past in the past and start living. And maybe start by taking me on a vacation with your winnings.” 

A relief fell over Gabe, like a 16-year-old anvil that had been lifted from his chest. He walked over and gave Gilbert the hug he had been holding onto for a long time.